Williamstown Planning Board to Hold Tuesday Hearing on Bylaw Amendments
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town's marijuana regulations are just one area addressed by the Planning Board in three draft bylaw amendments it plans to send to May's annual town meeting.
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, the board will hold the public hearing mandated under state law to present all three proposals to voters for comment and possible revision in advance of their inclusion on the town meeting warrant.
At Monday evening's Select Board meeting, Town Manager Jason Hoch clarified that anyone with health concerns about attending the hearing at town hall can submit comments either by emailing planningboard@williamstownma.gov, dropping off written comments at town hall or calling the town's offices.
"All of those will be seen and read by the Planning Board, considered part of the record and discussed," Hoch said.
One amendment addresses deficiencies in the town's current bylaw regarding non-conforming one- and two-family homes.
As explained in the bylaw's accompanying text, a January 2019 decision by the commonwealth's Supreme Judicial Court is the latest in a line of judgments more expansively interpreting state law related to non-conforming homes.
"This amendment brings our local bylaw into alignment with current case law and extends those minimum rights as the courts have directed," the draft bylaw reads.
A second proposal, currently titled Article B, would amend the zoning bylaw to regulate long and common driveways.
The focus on long driveways came in response to requests from the town's emergency responders, who are concerned about access to homes in the event of a fire or medical event.
Under the bylaw as drafted, driveways would be limited to 500 feet except by special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, which would determine whether the design provides adequate access for emergency vehicles.
And driveways of 100 feet or more in length would be required to maintain a grade of no more than 12 percent without a special permit and be constructed of "concrete, asphalt, paving stone, gravel, or other hard material."
The special permit process outlined in the proposed bylaw would require the ZBA to seek comment from the fire chief and chief of police before ruling on a design.
The language around driveway grade generated some discussion last month when Planning Board Chair Stephanie Boyd presented the draft amendments to the Select Board.
"I don't mean to debate with you, but I want people to think about this and make sure it's the right number," Select Board Chairman Jeffrey Thomas told Boyd. I would say that I think it's a homeowner's prerogative to build the driveway they want to build. What might be too steep for one of us may not for another.
"What are we trying to achieve here? I understand it's for accessibility of emergency vehicles. Beyond that, I'm not sure … are there other goals? I don't want to be a Big Brother to homeowners."
Boyd said the major goal of the Planning Board is to address the issue of emergency access, although homeowners would enjoy the ancillary benefit of better access for delivery trucks and the like.
"It's not that they can't have a grade higher than 12 percent," Boyd said. "But they're going to have an extra set of eyes and have to go through the special permit process in order to do that.
"We're not ruling anyone out, but a 12 percent gravel driveway is steep."
The second part of the driveway bylaw amendment addresses common driveways and seeks to prevent conflicts between homeowners who might find themselves sharing a driveway at a future date.
The key provision of proposed amendment comes in paragraph 3, section c, labeled "Right of Access."
"When applying for a building permit for a new dwelling unit serviced by a common driveway the applicant shall demonstrate that, through easements, restrictive covenants, or other appropriate legal devices, the maintenance, repair, snow removal, and liability for the common driveway and common right of access, shall remain perpetually the responsibility of all private parties, or their successors-in-interest, relying on said common driveway for access."
"Right now there are no rules," Boyd said. "So these common driveways have kind of happened over time and we haven't been able to regulate them in any way.
Boyd said that without good rules in place, properties on a common driveway can change hands over time, and new owners sometimes end up in disputes about access and maintenance issues.
"It's less a concern about the first pass of development," Town Manager Jason Hoch told the Select Board. "Those are usually reasonable people who all know each other and agree to do something. It is the subsequent iterations thereof as properties get sold, plans change. We find that a lack of clarity on the front end turns up on our doorstep with very few tools.
"This is more future oriented than it is immediate oriented."
None of the driveway rules proposed in the bylaw amendment would impact existing development. All are meant to regulate future development in town.
The third bylaw amendment on the table, Article C, like Article A, is drafted in part to bring the town's rules into compliance with the commonwealth's. In this case, it makes brings the town's marijuana bylaw into alignment with language of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, which issued its rules after the town bylaw was adopted in 2017.
Article C establishes strict odor controls for indoor marijuana production facilities; the town currently has no such facilities.
It also — as drafted — would prohibit outdoor cultivation of pot anywhere in town. But Boyd indicated at the the Feb. 24 Select Board meeting that her board might be open to reviving draft language that would allow outdoor cultivation under more restrictive conditions than the 2017 bylaw contemplated.
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